Syria's collapse creates major divisions between IRGC officials

Iranian military officials are heavily blaming one another for the fall of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, the Telegraph reported on Tuesday. 

After Tehran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad’s regime, Iranian Revolutionary Gaurd Corps are blaming each other “in angry terms” about the fall of a cornerstone of Khamenei's  'axis of resistance,' according to reporting from The Telegraph.

“The atmosphere is like something between almost punching each other, punching the walls, yelling at each other and kicking rubbish bins. They are blaming each other, and no one is taking responsibility,” an anonymous Iranian official told the Telegraph.

“No one ever imagined seeing Assad fleeing, as the focus for 10 years had been only on keeping him in power,” the official continued. “And it was not because we were in love with him, it was because we wanted to maintain proximity to Israel and Hezbollah.”

Assad's regime fell early on Sunday morning after an intense offensive by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian rebel forces, who captured the majority of Syrian territory in a matter of days, with four major cities being captured in under 24 hours. Assad officially fled Syria during the rebel's final push to take Damascus, and was granted asylum in Russia.

Weakening Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran

In the media, Iranian officials are calling HTS's victory a plot by Western powers to weaken the "axis of resistance" touted by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

“Iran’s top general warned that the recent surge of terrorist activities in Syria is part of an American-Israeli scheme to weaken the Syrian government and its allies in the 'axis of resistance',” Iranian state media IRNA said last week, according to reporting from The Jerusalem Post. 

The fall of the Syrian regime was further significant for Israel, as it was Tehran’s main route for supplying weapons to Hezbollah. While Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in a short-term ceasefire, this worsens Hezbollah's chances of rearming near Israel's northern border. 

“You need someone there to send arms to [but] they are either getting killed or escaping. Now the focus is on how to move forward from this impasse,” a second IRGC official told the Telegraph. “For now, there are no discussions about arms, as everyone is trying to understand what is really happening and how dangerous it is for Iran.” 

Replacing Qaani?

According to the Telegraph, many IRGC officials are placing the majority of the blame on Quds Force commander Brig. – Gen. Esmail Qaani because he allowed the Syrian armed forces to disperse. 

“He has done nothing to prevent Iran’s interests from crumbling,” one of the IRGC officials said. “Allies fell one after another, and he was watching from Tehran. Even worse days might yet be coming.”

The sources told the Telegraph that there were rumors that Kahmeini would replace Qaani because of internal pressure. 

 “The situation is bizarre and heated and angry discussions are taking place – the other concern is what to tell supporters in Iran,” the first source told the Telegraph.

The first official noted that Iran is at its weakest and that “The resistance project almost no longer exists.”

“You don’t need to be an expert to see that we are in our weakest and most vulnerable position in decade,  and many acknowledge that here,” the official told the Telegraph.